“get me into trouble”
Eugene by Waltzer, the musical project of Chicago based singer song-writer Sophie Sputnik is a weird bird. With it's kind of 70's rock stomp tone (yeah I did think of Nugent's Stranglehold) pushed through Sputnik's surf punk airy psychedelic vox and attitude, it is like a chill, yet jamming head banging hallucination. The Official Video which was produced with the help of visual artist Wayne White (Pee Wee's Playhouse set designer and artistic director for music videos from Smashing Pumpkins and Peter Gabriel) drives the surrealistic point home even further.
Amid the uncertainties of a world wide pandemic and social evolution / revolution and trying to navigate the vagaries of the government trying to decide if we can work, how we can work, sometimes seemingly by spinning a carnival wheel, Sputnik decided the only time to release material under the new Waltzer banner is now:
“It’s about time, I don’t know when I can do this other than right now. There’s hardly any way of knowing if there will ever be a good time to do this ever again.”
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Chicago based, dark soul, rock n roll, country outfit Waltzer is a reminder of our favorite artists who still haunt us today. Summoning influences such as George Harrison, Ronnie Spector, Harry Nillson and more.
“Get me into trouble,” an all-too-human voice wails on Waltzer’s latest single, “Eugene.” At first listen, the abstraction is at once both meaningless and full of immediacy -- noting the visceral longing for mischief that humanity seems so starved for at this very moment. While we may be dying to escape our social distancing that is mandated by various levels of government, Waltzer’s siren-like vocal is imbricated with the dirge of distorted guitars to blend surrealism with an abrasive truth: that desire emanates through and between us.
“It’s about time,” says Sophie Sputnik, the singer-songwriter now based in Chicago, about her choice to deliver new material under the Waltzer banner in such an unconventional manner. “I don’t know when I can do this other than right now. There’s hardly any way of knowing if there will ever be a good time to do this ever again.”
The single will be unveiled during a live streamed performance via social media that will be recorded and then pressed on a lathe to vinyl -- limited to 100 copies. A studio recording of the song will follow before Time Traveler, Waltzer’s first proper collection of songs, is made available to the public later in 2020.
There is, as they say, no time like the present -- however chaotic this present time may be. “I could wait and be ‘strategic’ -- I could ‘shop this record around’ to the A&R music industry professionals working from home during this pandemic,” proffers Sputnik. “I could follow trends and try to time this release with market calculations to ‘maximize exposure.’ I could pretend to be naive and tell myself that I have unlimited time and that this is a terrible moment to release new music. All bets are off -- so why not release these songs that I am very proud of right now?”
There’s not an ounce of irony in Sputnik’s quip that “we’re all gonna die” when speaking about her reasons to unveil a record during a time of almost stunning precariousness. That notion of death -- and perhaps, more accurately, the desire to act in the face of certain death or extinction -- is Time Traveler’s central theme.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Chicago based, dark soul, rock n roll, country outfit Waltzer is a reminder of our favorite artists who still haunt us today. Summoning influences such as George Harrison, Ronnie Spector, Harry Nillson and more.
“Get me into trouble,” an all-too-human voice wails on Waltzer’s latest single, “Eugene.” At first listen, the abstraction is at once both meaningless and full of immediacy -- noting the visceral longing for mischief that humanity seems so starved for at this very moment. While we may be dying to escape our social distancing that is mandated by various levels of government, Waltzer’s siren-like vocal is imbricated with the dirge of distorted guitars to blend surrealism with an abrasive truth: that desire emanates through and between us.
“It’s about time,” says Sophie Sputnik, the singer-songwriter now based in Chicago, about her choice to deliver new material under the Waltzer banner in such an unconventional manner. “I don’t know when I can do this other than right now. There’s hardly any way of knowing if there will ever be a good time to do this ever again.”
The single will be unveiled during a live streamed performance via social media that will be recorded and then pressed on a lathe to vinyl -- limited to 100 copies. A studio recording of the song will follow before Time Traveler, Waltzer’s first proper collection of songs, is made available to the public later in 2020.
There is, as they say, no time like the present -- however chaotic this present time may be. “I could wait and be ‘strategic’ -- I could ‘shop this record around’ to the A&R music industry professionals working from home during this pandemic,” proffers Sputnik. “I could follow trends and try to time this release with market calculations to ‘maximize exposure.’ I could pretend to be naive and tell myself that I have unlimited time and that this is a terrible moment to release new music. All bets are off -- so why not release these songs that I am very proud of right now?”
There’s not an ounce of irony in Sputnik’s quip that “we’re all gonna die” when speaking about her reasons to unveil a record during a time of almost stunning precariousness. That notion of death -- and perhaps, more accurately, the desire to act in the face of certain death or extinction -- is Time Traveler’s central theme.
No comments:
Post a Comment